Senate Bill 104: ‘Upskirting’ ban in Georgia is a step closer to becoming law

In the case of former grocery clerk Brandon Lee Gary, the Court of Appeals found last year that there was no specific law in Georgia that banned “upskirting”. The decades-old law being used to prosecute such cases had not kept up with the times or technology. Gary had used his cell phone in 2013 to take videos from under a woman’s skirt as she shopped at a Publix grocery store in Houston County.

As passed, SB 104 would make upskirting a felony, with those convicted of the crime facing up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

Official Summary: A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to kidnapping, false imprisonment, and related offenses, so as to require the posting of the human trafficking hotline model notice in government buildings; to provide for definitions; to provide for exceptions; to require government entities to have a hyperlink to the human trafficking hotline model notice on their websites; to delete the sunset provision; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

The bill is now on Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk for his signature. Lawmakers negotiated over both the upskirting ban and numerous pieces of other legislation now included in the bill, including increased penalties for carjacking, the posting of human trafficking hotlines government buildings and the state’s annual drug update.